Disgusted.

[marmota.livejournal.com]

a few weeks ago, I was issued a parking ticket in the brief window of opportunity between exiting my car and obtaining a guest permit from my destination. On showing the permit in hand to the ticket writer who was still there, I was told "it took me a minute to write it. dispute it.", and they walked off. So, I've disputed it.

Today, I received in the mail a demand for payment saying that my dispute had been denied, and I quote, "Hearing officers cannot dismiss validly issued ticket(s), which conform, to the parking rules and regulations.".

Apparently policy is now, or perhaps may always have been, for there to be no grace period whatsoever in obtaining guest permits.

So, fair warning. Apparently Somerville expects nonresidents to have to cell phone ahead to destinations and have someone meet us curbside with a permit.

I'm thoroughly disgusted by this, and out $50 for being LEGALLY PARKED.

Comments

[sparkgrrl658.livejournal.com]

and out $50 for being LEGALLY PARKED.

i agree this really sucks (i've had this happen in somerville too, actually, and now i wait in my car while they run up and get the permit) but...you weren't legally parked. by your own admission, you were parked somewhere that required a permit and you didn't have one.

it's like the people who park somewhere 'just for a minute!' and so they don't put money in the meter and then whine when they get a ticket.

[marmota.livejournal.com]

Technically true, certainly. It's the lack of a grace period (and I'm talking seconds here moreso than minutes) that shows a municipal contempt for people trying to comply with the law. By that definition, I could be ticketed in any metered zone with a "no standing" sign before I had even finished parking a car, simply for failing to instantly teleport change into the meter on my approach to the spot.

[ronhaha108.livejournal.com]

While I sympathize, realistically, is the ticket writer supposed to wait at each car before writing a ticket to see if someone comes out with a guest parking permit?

[junesrose.livejournal.com]

Well, NO, but don't you think that if YOU were coming out with said permit in hand, and the 'ticket writer' was still standing there writing your ticket, that s/he should at least give you the benefit of the doubt?????? I mean, seriously, I just... have no words.

[ronhaha108.livejournal.com]

Well, the OP said the ticket writer was still there, not still there writing the ticket. I assumed it was already entered into his/her little hand held computerized thing-a-majig since their reply was "it only took a minute for me to write it...". Also, I've heard that they can't just delete it from their hand held device once entered, of course this is pure hearsay on my part.

[inahandbasket]

This is true, they can't rescind one after they hit "send".

[m00n.livejournal.com]

I agree with junerose. Showing up at the parked car with the permit in hand should be reason enough to stop writing the ticket. It is not the same as trying to get out of paying a meter because you were "just going to be a minute" because a) It is reasonable to expect that someone leave their car mainly for the purpose of retrieving the permit, and b) Chances are, if the person has a guest permit to present, they were probably going to use it anyway, unlike a quarter, where it's obvious that the person is only now trying to pay because they're getting a ticket. If you have access to a guest permit, there really isn't any reason you wouldn't use it every time.

[sparkgrrl658.livejournal.com]

that's what i was getting at. it's unlikely the cop was staking out your car and the exact moment you left it, but more likely it was just a shitty coincidence. so i agree you should contest the ticket, but i don't at all think it merits being 'disgusted,' and, as mentioned elsewhere in the comments, once a cop starts writing the ticket, they can't just get rid of it.

i've actually even run out once to move my car to find it getting booted, and despite my begging and crying, nothing could be done. and the guy wasn't trying to be a jerk either, just doing his job.

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

Quite honestly, my husband has been yelled at for this in Boston in one of the areas with the central meter-for-the-whole-block.

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

By that definition, I could be ticketed in any metered zone with a "no standing" sign before I had even finished parking a car, simply for failing to instantly teleport change into the meter on my approach to the spot.
Yup. (http://consumerist.com/2010/04/man-receives-ticket-while-walking-from-car-to-parking-meter.html)

[pushupstairs.livejournal.com]

not to be overly obvious, but how else do you get a guest permit from someone you're visiting? have them mail it to you before you go over?

[sparkgrrl658.livejournal.com]

no, like i said in my comment, i usually wait for them to bring it down for me.